Secrets of the Dead

by Becca Vincenza

  I opened the door to my sister singing, and to say she had a terrible voice was being generous. She started to sing a new rendition of the beer bottle song, and I tipped my head back, hoping it wouldn’t last long.

  Rowan was sprawled out over the couch, and I dropped her candy on her stomach. She attacked it like a drug addict. I set her energy drink on a coaster on the coffee table where it wouldn’t stay.

  Keeping my eye on the ghost, I answered Rowan the best I could while I tried to stay focused on him. Vampires couldn’t see ghosts, and they couldn’t communicate with them without the help of a necromancer. Was he working with the vampires who’d suddenly come into town? But my parents would’ve been informed if more necromancers showed up; Ibrahim was a family friend, and he knew everything that happened in town.

  It took Rowan and me a lot of talking about our other brothers and boring nonsense to get the ghost to flicker out. The moment he did, I fixed her with a disapproving glare.

  “How could you be so stupid, Rowan?”

  “He caught me off guard.”

  Our parents had rules for that exact reason.

  “You always have to be on guard,” I reminded her.

  Rowan’s jawline ticked a little, but she held back rolling her eyes at me. At the moment, I didn’t give a fuck if she was annoyed. Our problems were piling up, and she’d been oblivious to most of them. Unfortunately, with her, it was better to keep her in the dark until I had a solid plan in place. She’d want to go in guns blazing without any backup plans. Another rule of our parents’—always think ahead and have a backup plan.

  “Are you going to stop home at any point today?” Rowan asked, clearly done talking about her screw-up.

  I needed to get out of there like three hours ago to start doing research and see if anyone else in town knew about the vampires. I’d have to ask Ira first since his father ran the town and knew everyone who came and went.

  “Probably. And you should too. Eventually, Mom is going to come looking for you.”

  Our mother had been pestering me for weeks now about things Rowan needed to get done before our birthday ceremony.

  “Can you bring me my kodachi blades and some clothes?”

  “Are you going to use them as a conduit, or are you using them for weapons practice?” Our parents made sure we had a well-rounded education, which included combat. Rowan worked best with distance while I used a variation of brass knuckles that had been made from onyx instead so I could use them as a conduit for my powers. And they helped me steady my flow for my Death Lines.

  “Both, but only if absolutely necessary,” Rowan said with her sly smile.

  Shaking my head, I left the apartment.

  Chapter 2

  Sweat poured down my back and dripped into my eyes, but still I pounded my fists against the punching bag ahead of me. The quiet thuds helped calm my racing mind. Rowan had stopped her daily workouts when we turned eighteen and she lost her workout buddy. Indigo usually came down with her, and they often sparred together; when he left town, so did her desire to be down in our gym.

  My muscles bunched under my skin, straining and ready to release. With another round of punches and jabs, I bounced on the balls of my feet. My hair flopped against my forehead, but I didn’t stop.

  The last two days had been endless amounts of Tomes with no answers and nothing helpful. Most of the magic required to banish a ghost for good demanded too high of a price or the strength Rowan and I didn’t have yet.

  Rowan had been absent at the house. My dad had been busy with a case he was assisting on, and my mom was focused on the preparations for our birthday. The ritual was sacred among our race, and everything had to be done precisely.

  My phone buzzed on the bench against the wall. Dropping my hands down and straightening my back, I walked over to it, my muscles stiff and hard to move. I probably should’ve slowed down two hours before, but I’d found clarity down here. Pulling a towel over my head, I wiped off the sweat and stared at the message.

  I tipped my head back, the headache I’d worked so hard to rid myself of slamming right back in. Indigo had landed and wanted to meet up with me and Rowan as soon as we could. How we would manage that, I didn’t know since Ro had been keeping a low profile because the ghost had refused to leave her side. I sent a quick text to my twin, asking her to meet me at Bam’s the next afternoon, then messaged Indigo. He replied almost instantly, and we agreed to meet up before going to talk to Rowan.

  As I set my phone down, my mind immediately raced with everything I’d learned over the last two days. There had been no records of any Curse Breakers in our family before, but that made sense. The magic that required a full banishment demanded a very high price, but essentially it came down to a life for a life. When the rival family placed that curse, they offered up a whole lot.

  And the magic it would take to rid ourselves of the ghost would be lofty as well even if our powers were at full strength. I hoped Ro and I could find a way to do a partial banishment, but that would still require more magic than I believed we could muster.

  I’d been flexing my powers for the past two days, but my connection with the ancestors had been weak at best. One of them was still pushing hard to get to me though. The ancestor was still a mystery to me, and I had even less of a clue of what he wanted.

  A cold blast went up my spine as I thought about the persistent ancestor. I flexed my powers, trying to allow them in.

  “Vampires. Check into the vampires.”

  The ancestor didn’t sound familiar, and he couldn’t take form. But that didn’t stop the warning from settling in my stomach like a lead weight.

  The gym door opened, and my father walked in. “Heard you down here, and thought I would come spar for a bit. Something on your mind, son?”

  “No.” I focused on the bag in front of me.

  “If you’re worried about what’ll happen at your birthday ceremony, it’ll be all right.” My father wouldn’t look me in the eye as he held the bag for me. The ancestor who’d been hanging around disappeared—I could tell when his presence faded even if I still couldn’t see him—and I wondered for a moment why he left when my father arrived.

  “Do you remember an ancestor of ours who might’ve been interested in vampires?”

  My father’s head shot up and his gaze turned hard.

  “No. Where did you even get any information like that?”

  “I found a Tome in Sherman’s library.”

  “Did it say who the ancestor was?” My father still wouldn’t look me directly in the eye, which was unlike him. He was a strong man with strong beliefs and rarely backed down for anything.

  “No. Did you ever run into a vampire case while you were working with the Guard?”

  “No. It was a different department. My brother worked for them for a bit.”

  “Uncle Jonas?”

  “Let’s train.” My father took a step back.

  “Which brother?”

  “Show me your left jab.” He deflected.

  My gut told me to keep on him, to get the name of the brother he refused to answer.

  “What about Uncle—”

  “Abel! Let’s just train. Left jab.”

  I followed his instructions as he helped me train for the rest of the afternoon. The workout had been enough for me to leave everything behind for a bit and be free from more dangerous thoughts. The ancestor’s warnings had been getting worse, weighing on my shoulders, but after the workout with my father, the load grew a little lighter.

  “Make sure your sister makes it on time for brunch before your birthday.”

  “I will.”

  “Does she know her parts for the ceremony?”

  “Yes.”

  “Thank you, Abel.” My father came over and hugged me. “You’re a good brother. And an even better son.”

  He left, leaving me with a feeling of dread. He hadn’t been as harsh with me in training—usually he worked me pretty hard—and he never thanke
d me for watching over Rowan. That had always just been my job as her older brother, her twin.

  I walked over to where I left my phone, seeing I’d a missed phone call. I redialed the number and put the phone to my ear.

  “Hey, brother,” Indigo’s familiar voice answered.

  “What’s going?”

  “I’m home. How’s she doing?”

  Indigo, Rowan, and I had been inseparable. Rowan had a harder time making friends when we were younger. She’d embraced our magic and was proud to be a necromancer while I’d been tentative and controlled every aspect of my magic. The pack included me because it had been mostly males, and they saw me as one of their own. But Rowan always had Indigo, and he’d made it hard for any of the other males to get near her.

  Indigo had his reasons for leaving; he’d explained a lot before he left but asked me never to tell Rowan, promising he would talk to her when he was ready. I respected my friend’s wishes even when it killed me to see how his departure hurt Rowan. He might’ve left to protect her, but he broke her heart in the process.

  “Abe?”

  “She’s doing. Are you sure now is the best time to come home?”

  “I’m ready to see her.”

  “Indigo, you know I consider you family, but she’s my twin. My best friend. Have you ever thought about whether she was ready to see you?”

  “I need to see her. I need to.”

  I sighed. “We need to meet up.”

  Chapter 3

  Water lapped at the shallow bay, the sun’s reflection blinding me for a moment as my eyes adjusted. I was exhausted from the days and nights I spent working on a way to rid ourselves of the ghost. My absolute last resort would be to call Art and hope he’d show. He would have the power to get rid of the ghost, but I didn’t want my parents questioning his reasons for coming into town.

  The ancestor’s warning had been a nagging thought. I tried to get in contact with him, but he disappeared. Every day, my power lessened; and every day, I tried to flex my powers to test my strength. The longer we waited, the harder it may be to rid ourselves of Rowan’s ghost problem.

  I continued to scour the internet, looking for any mention of a missing person or recent death. That still came up empty. With our birthday coming up, I worried about the ghost more than ever. If he was a spy for another necromancer family, as I suspected him to be, he’d bring us nothing but trouble.

  “Odd spot to choose to meet up,” Indigo said, appearing from the trees. He moved a lot more silently than when we were kids. He’d grown into an Alpha as he was born to be.

  “I needed to talk to you about something private before we met up with Ro.”

  Indigo’s eyes flashed with his wolf.

  “She got herself into a bit of trouble again.”

  Indigo’s shoulders dropped as he stepped up next to me. Growing up, we were almost always the same height, but now he stood at least a couple inches taller than me.

  “So that job’s treating you right?”

  Indigo laughed, shaking his head. “No, not really. But I don’t think I could have it any other way now.”

  “Hmm,” I said thoughtfully.

  “How about you, my brother? What will you do after you hit that magical necromancer number?”

  “Don’t know. Especially with the wild card that is Rowan.”

  “Yes, you said she ran into trouble,” Indigo said, a quiet growl entering his voice.

  “She was at work, and I guess she thought she would have her own brand of Rowan fun and did some magic in front of a new ghost. He’s been harassing her since, and I’m trying to find any information about the guy.”

  “Can I help?”

  “No. I’m trying to draw as little attention to the whole situation as I can. I told Ro to keep a low profile for now, but you know her.”

  “I’ll help any way I can,” he promised.

  “I appreciate it. Now, why the hell do you want to see her after avoiding her for five years?”

  “I wasn’t avoiding her, and you know it, ” Indigo said, clearly annoyed.

  “I know a lot my sister doesn’t, but it doesn’t make me feel better about why you’re here.”

  Indigo grew quiet. He’d explained to me why he left my sister high and dry after their night together and after she told him she loved him. Once he had his transition, he didn’t know how he’d react, what would happen to him, so he had to get far away for her safety.

  “I need to see her. With your birthday coming, everything will change.”

  I nodded, not having an answer for him. I didn’t trust his reasoning. There was more to why he decided to come back now, but it wasn’t my business. My twin could hold her own against Indigo.

  “Let’s go meet up with Rowan before she causes any more problems.”

  Indigo and I walked out of the woods that led to the lake we used to hang out at when we were kids though I think it held more significance for Rowan and Indigo than it did me. My sister didn’t go into great details about her short affair with Indigo before he left, but I knew enough. I hated what my best friend had done to my sister, but I understood. Indigo had warned me almost a year before his eighteenth birthday that he would have to leave town for a while to get a handle over the new power of his wolf.

  Indigo had been in a strange mood for weeks after his father told him on his 17th birthday. I confronted my friend and demanded to know what had happened. He had been avoiding Rowan which put her in a terrible mood. He had told her that he was away on a hunt with some of the other weres. Seeing the friends he’d gone with around town, I went to find him myself.

  Indigo explained that his father knew since he was born that Indigo would be an Alpha, but some were born as runts. Ibrahim explained that when Indigo would go through his change, his wolf would be uncontrollable. And he needed to leave town until he got control of his wolf. It could result in Indigo challenging his father. He left to protect his pack and our town.

  Kodiak Falls was nestled inside a forest, and sometimes it was hard to pinpoint where we began and the woods did. The roads were mostly dirt, the only paved one led straight through town. Bam’s Diner sat right off the main road, and we headed over to it. I could see Rowan from the large bay windows that spanned to both ends of the building, sitting at a booth with her head down. Her new ghost friend hovered close to her.

  Indigo and I walked into the bar, and Bam’s gaze narrowed on Indigo. She looked over at me for a second before tending to the customer ahead of her. She hadn’t ever had a problem with Indigo before, but the look that crossed her features said otherwise. Indigo’s nostrils flared in return, but his attention quickly shifted back to Rowan.

  Stepping in front of Indigo, I tried to remind him that he had to wait for me to speak with her first or, at least, let me break it to her gently. Ro loved surprises to an extent, but I was almost certain she would find a fun way to repay me after this one. I cringed at the thought. She’d always been good at paybacks. Rowan often roped Indigo into helping her, which made them a terror together.

  But my twin had never been as happy as she was when Indigo had been around. Not just because she loved him but because he’d been her best friend. At times, I’d been jealous of their friendship; I didn’t have anyone I was as close to as Ro, but she always had Indigo.

  The diner was packed with people. The patrons were loud; dishes clinked, and sneakers squeaked on the tiled flooring. I walked over to Rowan’s side of the table, planning on sitting next to her to make sure she didn’t try to drive a knife into Indigo’s neck. I nudged my sister’s side, and she groaned in response.

  “Go sit on the other side,” she mumbled, keeping her head down.

  I nodded to Indigo, indicating he should sit on the other side. He took a seat, and I dealt with Rowan.

  “Can’t.”

  “Why?”

  “If you come out of hiding, you’ll find out for yourself,” I said, increasingly annoyed with my twin.

  “No, h
e won’t leave—”

  Before my sister could say another word, I pinched her under the table as I forced her to scoot over.

  “Ouch!” She peeked up to glare at me. Indigo already knew, but my sister didn’t know that, nor did she need to. She’d be pissed if she found out I’d asked him to keep an eye out for her. “I would murder you for less, considering the circumstances, dear twin.”

  Indigo laughed at my sister’s antics, but I didn’t see any humor in it. At the sound, my twin stiffened and sat up, glaring at our best friend. Something passed between them, and I looked away.

  Across the diner, a stranger sat at the bar, and it bothered me the way he watched us. The ghost who’d been stalking Rowan glanced over at the stranger as well. The look had been quick and subtle, which raised my suspicions. “You motherfucker.”

  I turned at my sister’s sudden shout and glared at her. She’d drawn the attention of all the other customers of the diner, including Bam, who shot daggers in our direction. Rowan bounced in the seat, trying to force me out of it, and I glared over at my friend, hating that he’d forced me to be a part of this.

  Under the table, Rowan kicked me and stomped on my foot. “Let me out of this booth right fucking now, Abel.”

  Rowan’s thigh landed on mine, and she kicked me under the table again. I gritted my teeth as she continued to fuss, everyone staring our way.

  Indigo reached over the table to grab her hand. “Ro.”

  “Don’t you even dare.” Rowan’s voice dropped to a deadly whisper, and with her anger, her magic grew. I felt it under my skin as mine reacted. I tried to nudge her to remind her to calm down, but her focus was pinpointed on Indigo.

  “Rowan, let him explain.”

  My sister needed to calm down and listen to what Indigo had to say. He had good reasoning for leaving. No one knew how his wolf would react to such a change when it would finally get to be free. He’d made the smart decision even if she couldn’t see it that way.